Browning BLR Issue. Suggestions Welcome.

I took my BLR '81 .308 out this afternoon to get it dialed in for the upcoming deer season. After shooting a few flawless rounds, I started having some issues. At first, after cycling the action and chambering a new round, I'd go to fire but I wasn't able to pull the trigger. It seemed "stuck" and the hammer would not fall. If I cycled the action again and tried to fire the next round, it would usually fire.

Then I experienced another issue. Upon pulling the trigger, the hammer would fall but the firing pin did not strike the primer. I could sort of hear and feel a springy sound within the bolt when this happened. For some reason the firing pin would not strike the primer. If I cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger again, it would fire. These issues happened randomly but probably 6 or 7 times out of 35 rounds.

I'm not terribly familiar with the BLRs. This gun was passed down to me last year by my grandfather. From what I've heard and read, they can be tricky to take down and work on. Does anyone have any suggestions on what this could be? Probably the safest bet would be to just take it to the smith but I'm interested in what you folks have to say.

Thanks.

Thanks for the responses. I don't believe WD-40 was ever used on this gun. Knowing where this rifle came from, I doubt that anything in the bolt, receiver, or trigger mechanism was ever even cleaned. Perhaps it needs a good cleaning.

I was using all factory ammo. Winchester Super X, Remington Core Lokt, and Hornady American Whitetail.

Not being able to pull the trigger seemed to happen mostly with the Hornady rounds. The issue with the firing pin not striking the primer happened sporadically with all of the rounds. Usually cycling the action would work and the next shot would fire...until it happened again.

351 Winchester, I took your advice. I used Remington cleaner/degreaser and sprayed all through the trigger assembly, bolt, and gear mechanisms. Then I blew it all out with compressed air and sprayed some Breakfree in those areas to lube and wiped everything down. I'll take it out next weekend and shoot to see if the problem is resolved.

Thanks for the advice.

- Jeff

There was definitely some gunk buildup in there. I had black oily bits spattered all over my shirt and arms after blowing everything out with compressed air.

Yes, the lever is closing completely and the bolt appears to be as well. That was my first thought and was sure to check it every time I ran into the issue of the trigger not pulling.

The Hornady rounds were all very accurate and ejected just fine out of my BLR. I'm hoping/guessing that it was just a cleaning issue. I'll be taking it out shooting again on Saturday and will update after I do.